(no subject given)

[Dave Jones]

(wow, what an e-mail address....)

Hi, Tim.

Based on what your problem seems to be, I would think that a possible
solution would be to use the SFS facility.

Historically, CMS minidisks could not be larger than the underlying real
DASD that held them. That is, a CMS minidisk could not be bigger than,
say a 3350 or 3390-3 (they can not span physical DASD volumes). SFS
"pools together" a number of CMS minidisks into one large storage area
that can be (much) larger than one one physical DASD. The SFS server
manages the CMS minidisks that make up the storage pool, and an
administrator can control how much of the pool an individual user can
consume. You can also define a number of different SFS servers on one VM
system, so you can allocate users among a set of servers.

SFS also gives you:

1) a hierarchal directory structure for storing files in (similar to
Unix and Linux)
2) a safe was for reliably sharing files among different users
3) integration with VM's DFSMF/VM function for automatic space
management and control.
4) with an IBM provided communications application, SFS file pools can
be very easily shared across VM systems, even if they are widely
separated, with very good performance.

The IBM manual you need to refer to is:
z/VM CMS File Pool Planning, Administration and Operation,
which can be found here:
http://publibz.boulder.ibm.com/epubs/pdf/hcsi3b10.pdf

Of course, you do need to verify that your batch applications (and batch
monitor) support files residing in the SFS, but I suspect they do.

Good luck.

DJ
- Tim Gray Tim Gray Ø Systems Programmer Ø Information
Technology Ø The MONY Group Ø Phone [phone] Ø SOC 5T1, MD 35-18 Ø
***@mony.com
----------------------------------------- * wrote:
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> Please let me start by saying how much I appreciate all of your input.
> I haven't had a need to send a question to the list in a while, so this
> is the first opportunity I've had to express my thanks to all of you.
>
> My question / dilemma is probably very routine to most of you, but I'm
> not sure where to begin. My clients are encountering space problems
> from time to time that will cause their over night applications to
> abend. They contact us, and we increase their disk space and they
> continue with their batch processing. They have asked if there is a way
> to increasing a disk automatically, or if there is a way to create a
> pool of volumes, much like SMS does on MVS, that several IDs would all
> have access to? Is that where the Shared File System would come in? If
> so, how does that work exactly? What types of problems might I
> encounter with SFS? I haven't looked into the documentation (I wanted
> to make sure it was SFS that I needed to use), but is there a specific
> book that would guide me through the setup and management of SFS, if
> it's what I need to use?
>
> Any suggestions on how to help my client, and our support team, would be
> very much appreciated.
>
> Thank you,
> Tim
> Tim Gray Ø Systems Programmer Ø Information Technology Ø AXA Technology
> Services Ø Phone [phone] Ø SOC 5T1, MD 35-18 Ø ***@mony.com
>
>
>
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>
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> Any unauthorized disclosure, use or dissemination of this e-mail
> message or its contents, either in whole or in part, is prohibited.
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[Rich Greenberg]

On: Wed, Mar 01, 2006 at 04:45:25PM -0500,- Tim Gray

} My question / dilemma is probably very routine to most of you, but I'm not
} sure where to begin. My clients are encountering space problems from time
} to time that will cause their over night applications to abend. They
} contact us, and we increase their disk space and they continue with their
} batch processing. They have asked if there is a way to increasing a disk
} automatically, or if there is a way to create a pool of volumes, much like
} SMS does on MVS, that several IDs would all have access to? Is that where
} the Shared File System would come in? If so, how does that work exactly?
} What types of problems might I encounter with SFS? I haven't looked into
} the documentation (I wanted to make sure it was SFS that I needed to use),
} but is there a specific book that would guide me through the setup and
} management of SFS, if it's what I need to use?

Tim,
The earlier suggestion of using SFS is an excellent one. I would like
to present an older solution which you can use if you don't have SFS
running and are reluctant to set it up just for this.

Allocate some space which can be from a few hundred cylinders to
multiple full packs as TDSK and use t-disks, You can allocate them in
the directory or just have the user define as much as they think they
need as needed. The disadvantage of t-disk is that it must be formatted
each time. If you can use FBA disks for t-disk, they format faster.

Another solution which some shops have implemented is to have pools of
preformatted disks available and link to them as needed. You can have a
group of 10 cyl disks, a group of 50 cyl disks, a group of 100 cyl disks
etc. Then an exec that can be called with a size and will locate an
unused disk of the right size, link to it, make sure its empty and
access it.

--
Rich Greenberg N6LRT Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507
Eastern time zone. I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67
Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L
Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L